Heathrow chaos wrecks holiday plans for thousands

Thousands of families have had their bank holiday break ruined after being
stranded at Heathrow following the emergency landing of an Oslo-bound
British Airways airbus.

Heathrow was due to handle 225,000 passengers, about 35,000 more than normalPhoto: Russell Clisby

Victoria Ward and David Millward

4:21PM BST 24 May 2013

The airport was forced to cancel 193 flights on one of the busiest days of the year with Heathrow due to handle 225,000 passengers, about 35,000 more than normal.

There were chaotic scenes at the airport as families, many of whom had hoped to get away for the half-term break became embroiled in a frantic scramble for flights.

Many were unable to book online and at one point massive queues were snaking around Terminal 5.

One of the engines of a British Airways passenger jet as it prepares to make an emergency landing (Reuters)

British Airways cancelled all short-haul flights until 4pm in an attempt to contain the chaos and salvage its operation for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend.

Worst hit were passengers flying to European airports at a time when demand for weekend city-breaks was high.

Ben Marchard, his wife Ellen and their 10-year-old twin daughters and seven-year-old son.

Mr Marchard, 40, from Oxford, had hoped to join family and friends in Munich for his wife's 40th birthday party.

"This has been in the planning for years. We met out there, we got engaged there. It was supposed to be perfect, but it is an absolute disaster.

“Now I have had to tell my wife I have paid for a party we cannot get to.

Richard Biggs, 50, was forced to write off plans to take his wife Sarah and their sons Henry and Oliver, 15 and 11,to watch qualification for the Monaco Grand Prix.

"We were hoping to rebook and get a flight on Saturday, but BA have said all flights are booked for several days.”

Steve Collins, his wife Sue and eight-year-old daughter Lucy struggled to establish how they would make it to Los Angeles for a two-week holiday.

A three hour delay on their flight from Manchester to London meant they missed their onward connection to America.

They were told they had no chance of getting on the only remaining flight to LA.

"You would think Heathrow might be able to cope with the closure of one runway. We're going to lose out on an expensive hotel we've booked on Santa Monica beach and the hire car booked from this evening.

"There were ten of us on the plane from Manchester due to get the lunchtime flight to LA so we'll all be stranded now.”